diff --git a/beacon_node/eth1/src/service.rs b/beacon_node/eth1/src/service.rs
index e63883546..0bc5e9432 100644
--- a/beacon_node/eth1/src/service.rs
+++ b/beacon_node/eth1/src/service.rs
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ const GET_BLOCK_TIMEOUT_MILLIS: u64 = STANDARD_TIMEOUT_MILLIS;
 /// Timeout when doing an eth_getLogs to read the deposit contract logs.
 const GET_DEPOSIT_LOG_TIMEOUT_MILLIS: u64 = STANDARD_TIMEOUT_MILLIS;
 
-const WARNING_MSG: &str = "BLOCK PROPOSALS WILL FAIL WITHOUT VALID ETH1 CONNECTION";
+const WARNING_MSG: &str = "BLOCK PROPOSALS WILL FAIL WITHOUT VALID, SYNCED ETH1 CONNECTION";
 
 /// A factor used to reduce the eth1 follow distance to account for discrepancies in the block time.
 const ETH1_BLOCK_TIME_TOLERANCE_FACTOR: u64 = 4;
@@ -450,6 +450,16 @@ impl Service {
                     );
                     return Ok(());
                 }
+                // Eth1 nodes return chain_id = 0 if the node is not synced
+                // Handle the special case
+                if chain_id == Eth1Id::Custom(0) {
+                    crit!(
+                        self.log,
+                        "Remote eth1 node is not synced";
+                        "warning" => WARNING_MSG,
+                    );
+                    return Ok(());
+                }
                 if chain_id != config_chain_id {
                     crit!(
                         self.log,